Niuatoputapu Airport , also known as Mata'aho Airport, is an airport in

Niuatoputapu Niuatoputapu is a high island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older European names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island. Niuatoputapu is ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. The airfield is an unsealed coral strip. Damage to the airport from the

2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami took place on 29 September 2009 in the southern Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone. The submarine earthquake occurred in an extensional environment and had a moment magnitude of 8.1 ...

caused it to be temporarily closed following the disaster. After clearing the mud and debris of the runway, the rest of the country was finally equipped to provide aid to empower the Niuatoputapu residents and facilitated the rehabilitation of the community. A small cinder block building acts as terminal and airport office. Fuel drums are located next to the terminal. Connections to other parts of the island are made by taxi. The airport was serviced by

Real Tonga Real Tonga, stylised as "REALtonga", was an airline that operated domestic flights within Tonga. It commenced operations in March 2013, becoming the twelfth airline to operate domestic flights in Tonga since air services began. In 2020 the airlin ...

, but in 2020 the airline ceased operations, leaving the country without a domestic air service.

References

Airports in Tonga Niuas {{tonga-geo-stub